Tyre Baling Equipment for French Recyclers: Market and Compliance

By:     Conor Murphy

France’s end-of-life tyre (Pneus Usagés, PU) management system is one of the most mature in Europe, operating through the Aliapur consortium which coordinates the collection, sorting, and recycling of the approximately 380,000 to 420,000 tonnes of end-of-life tyres generated in France annually. The Aliapur system is funded by eco-contributions levied on tyre producers and manages tyre flows from 15,000-plus collection points to approved processing facilities. Within this established system, tyre baling plays a role at both collection centres and at processing facilities where baled tyres are required for specific civil engineering and export applications.

This article covers the structure of the French tyre recycling market, the role of tyre baling within it, and the equipment specifications appropriate for French operators at different stages of the tyre processing chain.

The French PU Market Structure

French end-of-life tyre management is organised under the producer responsibility framework established by Decree 2012-1115 and subsequently updated under AGEC. Tyre producers and importers must either join Aliapur or another approved eco-organism, or operate their own approved individual recovery system. Aliapur manages approximately 75% of the French PU market by volume, with the remainder managed through smaller approved eco-organisms and individual producer systems.

Within the Aliapur system, collected tyres are routed to approved processors for material recovery (crumb rubber for sports surfaces, playgrounds, and industrial applications), thermal recovery (TDF for cement kilns and power generation), and civil engineering applications. Baling is required specifically for the civil engineering application route and for export to markets where baled tyres are the standard input format. Processors approved by Aliapur for civil engineering applications must produce bales meeting defined dimensional and quality standards.

Civil Engineering Applications in France

Tyre bale civil engineering applications in France include retaining wall construction, embankment fill material, noise barrier construction, and lightweight fill for infrastructure projects. French civil engineering guidance on tyre bale use has been developed through research by CEREMA (Centre for Studies and Expertise on Risks, Environment, Mobility and Planning) and is referenced in French public works specifications for specific applications. French operators producing civil engineering bales need equipment that produces bales meeting the dimensional specifications referenced in French civil engineering guidance.

PAS 108, the British Standard for tyre bales, is increasingly referenced by French civil engineering buyers as a quality framework even though it is a British rather than French or EU standard, because it is the most developed and detailed technical specification available for tyre bale applications. French operators supplying UK civil engineering projects must produce PAS 108-compliant bales. Those supplying French projects may work to French CEREMA guidance but often reference PAS 108 dimensions as the equivalent specification.

Gradeall’s MKII tyre baler produces bales compliant with PAS 108, providing French operators supplying both domestic and UK civil engineering markets with the consistent bale specification required by buyers in both markets. The baler is CE-marked and appropriate for installation at French-approved PU processing facilities.

Collection Centre Equipment Needs

French PU collection centres, which receive tyres from garages, workshops, and tyre retailers before onward transport to processing facilities, face the same storage density and fire risk challenges as collection centres elsewhere. Loose tyre stacks at collection centres are regulated under French ICPE regulations (Installations Classées pour la Protection de l’Environnement), with specific quantity limits and storage conditions specified for rubric 2712 (storage of PU) installations. Baling at the collection centre level allows higher storage quantities under the ICPE rubric applicable to processed tyre waste, improving the economics of the collection centre operation.

“The French ICPE system makes baling at the collection centre level more attractive than in many other EU markets,” says Conor Murphy, Director of Gradeall International. “The quantity limits for loose tyre storage under ICPE rubric 2712 are strict enough that larger collection centres genuinely benefit from baling to increase their storage capacity within the permitted threshold. That’s an operational driver for baling equipment beyond the transport and gate fee arguments.”

For French collection centres at the lower volume end of tyre baling viability, Gradeall’s portable tyre baling system provides a mobile baling solution that can serve multiple collection points, maximising equipment utilisation across a collection network rather than requiring a fixed baler at each site.

French Import Procedures for UK Equipment

Post-Brexit, UK-manufactured tyre baling equipment imported to France is subject to EU customs procedures at the French border or at another EU entry point. French import VAT (TVA) at 20% applies, with recovery by French VAT-registered businesses through their normal TVA return. The UK-EU Trade and Cooperation Agreement (TCA) provides for tariff-free trade on goods meeting the applicable rules of origin, which for manufactured equipment generally requires that the equipment originates in the UK. Gradeall’s equipment, manufactured at its Dungannon, Northern Ireland facility, meets UK origin requirements under the TCA.

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